A life goal of mine has always been to be able to afford a pair of Christian Louboutin’s sexy heels. Like, I could save money and buy a pair but being able to AFFORD a pair is different.

With my life goal in mind, Pearl and I watched a short documentary about Louboutin on Netflix and wow! I had no idea how much went into making a pair of these stunning shoes. I’m not talking about the materials and the man hours. I’m talking about the thought process behind the designs and the business model.

We all know that if you work too hard or too long – there will be things you are sacrificing like family/friend time or sleep. We know that if you have no work-life balance, you eventually won’t be too happy. But what people don’t talk about is if you’re working too hard and you’re too good at your job.

Here’s a list of four overlooked annoyances that no one tells you will happen when you’re working too hard.

When it came time for me to get my own camping gear, it took a lot of research. Here’s a list of camping gear I own and love! The pros and cons to each and the gear I’m still looking to buy.

Before you pull buy any gear, always look for a discount! You can become a lifetime member with REI for a one time fee of $20 and then for certain purchases you’ll get credit back to spend at the store. (My mom got a dividend of like $600 one year! She’s a spender. My dividend is more like $60 a year and it’s still awesome.) It’s fun to dream about what to spend the store credit on. Last year Tom got hiking boots and this year we put it towards an Osprey day pack.

As a vegetarian, I get a lot of odd questions but the most common question I get (and probably the least odd) is “Where do you get your protein?”

One of the main things I love about being a vegetarian is that it makes me think about the food I’m eating. Before becoming a vegetarian I would go out to restaurants and order the same thing. I would mindlessly eat whatever and didn’t put thought into what I was consuming. However, you can’t really do that as a vegetarian or your body will become weak and you’ll be unhealthy.

So here it is – the 411 on walking obnoxiously by avoiding evil and deflecting potential threats. Please note that the steps below can be applied to skateboarders, rollerbladers, bikers and my personal favorite – runners. Basically, anyone who is passing me or going at a speed faster than walking. Get your own path! Yeah I’m looking at you bikers.

Something that has been eating me alive for quite some time is my inability to get a job out of state. Moving out of the midwest has been a goal for mine for years but for some reason, I keep missing my goal.

To me, this feels like a HUGE failure. The plan was to live in our current town for two years (we’re at three) and then move out east or west for two years.

I have tried a variety of tactics ranging from taking my address off of my resume, putting down a relocating date, revisiting and revamping my resume frequently, catering each resume and cover letter to the specific job, reaching out to recruiters on LinkedIn and blindly applying for any job.

With my type A personality I tend to get wound up and frustrated by the lack of success I’ve had in this goal of mine. Sometimes I debate giving in. Maybe I should just buy a house here, settle down in this depressing town for the time being and put this goal off to “someday.” This sounds very enticing to me because I’m sick of feeling rejected but I know in my gut – it’s not the right move to make. I know down the road, I’ll be more upset with myself that I let frequent disappointment stop me from my goal.

Here’s a list of four things I’ve found have helped me keep on keeping on.

Think about it, relationships are like sweaters. This brilliant analogy came to me, like all great ideas, late at night when I was half asleep. You know when you dream up something at night and you think you’re the smartest funniest person in the world? Yeah, this was one of those times.

I woke up to myself thinking about this analogy at some horrible morning hour. Oddly enough, I keep sticky notes by my bed and a pen to write random shit like this down.

Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. – Anonymous

Today, I threw a pen and punched my desk. I pounded on my keyboard and slammed my office phone down. I’ve NEVER been like this. I’ve never thrown an adult tantrum! I’ve always been able to remain calm and find another outlet for my anger. But lately, it’s been bad.

So you graduate and are making $45,000 a year – feeling like a big shot. Or not, because 25% of your monthly income is going to rent and 20% to student loans. After you pay for gas and food – you have about $100 that should probably going to some savings account but that’s boring.

I was talking to my grandma about money and she said to me, “Well, do you have a budget? It worked for us and maybe you want to try it.” What kinda silly, simple question is that? Do I have a budget?! I don’t need that – it’s 2018 my online bank tracks that stuff!